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Neuropsychology in the Twenty-First Century: The Rise of Multicultural Assessments

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Physician's Field Guide to Neuropsychology

Abstract

Racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity in the United States is growing exponentially. Whereas multicultural neuropsychological assessment was once considered a subspecialty, it is migrating toward center stage. Consequently, neuropsychologists have been developing culturally informed neuropsychological assessments to better serve multicultural patients. The role of culture in neuropsychological assessment is explored in this chapter, and critical elements comprising culturally informed assessments are delineated at each point of the evaluation. At minimum, they incorporate (1) greater sensitivity to the psychological factors that affect the evaluation of multicultural populations, (2) knowledge of the ways in which culture impacts the testing environment, (3) multicultural assessment tools and evaluation techniques, and (4) knowledge of how to work with interpreters, if necessary.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Margaret Lanca & Emily K. Wilner

Authors
  1. Margaret Lanca
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  2. Emily K. Wilner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Margaret Lanca .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA

    Karen M. Sanders

Chapter Review Questions

Chapter Review Questions

  1. 1.

    All of the following are useful approaches when assessing a patient whose cultural background is different from one’s own except:

    1. A.

      Memorizing the specifics of the culture’s customs, values, and beliefs prior to meeting the patient.

    2. B.

      Familiarizing oneself with broader characteristics of the culture (e.g., cultural values, normative behaviors) through reading, professional consultation, etc.

    3. C.

      Assessing premorbid functioning by way of questions about a patient’s educational and occupational history as opposed to using formal measures (e.g., reading test).

    4. D.

      Querying the patient/family about cultural expectations regarding educational and occupational attainment, functioning, etc.

  2. 2.

    You are asked to urgently assess a 75-year-old Bengali-speaking gentleman with limited education for possible dementia. Which of the following approaches and techniques would be best suited for this assessment?

    1. A.

      Assess memory functioning using nonverbal measures only.

    2. B.

      Use a medical interpreter to translate memory tests developed for US populations into Bengali.

    3. C.

      Administer “culture-fair” measures of memory functioning and supplement with nontraditional assessment techniques.

    4. D.

      Attempt to refer the case to a Bengali-speaking provider.

  3. 3.

    Which of the following are common reasons why a patient may be reluctant to use a medical interpreter?

    1. A.

      The patient may believe their level of English is sufficient.

    2. B.

      The patient may know or be acquaintances with the medical interpreter from interactions outside the medical setting (e.g., belong to the same church).

    3. C.

      The patient may not want contact with their native country for psychological reasons.

    4. D.

      All of the above.

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Lanca, M., Wilner, E.K. (2019). Neuropsychology in the Twenty-First Century: The Rise of Multicultural Assessments. In: Sanders, K. (eds) Physician's Field Guide to Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8722-1_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8722-1_28

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8722-1

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